PHB: Introduction
Introduction
This is the short catechism of the Hebrew alphabet: Hint: Though there are links here, you should read the rest of this book before following them.
They heard - אבגדה
- God spoke and created the heavens and the earth א and revealed to men ב that he pursued them ג with a commandment ד which they did not understand ה.
They saw - וזחטי
- They were distinguished ו as the bride ז when they did understand ח. Through a marriage ט they became a new creation י.
The promise - כלמנס
The exchange - עפצ
- He was made to be flesh ע, taught in parables, prophecies and riddles פ, and exchanged his righteousness for our sin צ.
The revelation - קרשת
- The Son of God died and rose again ק revealing ר that his Word returned with an increase ש and the revelation had produced new life ת.
The final state - ךםןףץ
- The Son of God died ך completing the promise of the Father ם. The Son of Man was restored to Glory ן. Prophecy was fulfilled ף. Judgement is ended ץ. And we became co-heirs with Christ.
Ye [are] my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. - Isa 43:10
Sometimes I mention to people that I have been researching Hebrew for more than 20 years. They almost always ask why I would do such a thing. I explain that Hebrew is unlike any other language. In Hebrew, words get their meaning from the combined meaning of the letters within'. The letters get their meaning from the jots and tittles (dots and strokes) (yods and vavs) of the letter. We understand jots and tittles intuitively. It would seem that our DNA was programmed to understand them.
As I started to study the Hebrew portion of the Bible seriously, I wanted to learn how to think like a Hebrew. I called a prominent Rabbi hoping that in discussions I would be able to discern how he thought. One day I suggested that since teaching was his profession, I would like to remunerate him. He suggested that I take his remote classes. He asked that I not talk about Christian stuff in class since it would confuse the other students.
I think he forgot I was there. Perhaps he did so intentionally to allow me to see him and his students dialog about issues in a 'Hebrew' setting. Western Greek thought processes use Greek philosophy, logic rhetoric, debate and even myth. This is very different from the conversations I was hearing.
It was here, and from other rabbis I engaged, that I learned of the unique nature of the Hebrew language. They did not know how to parse the meaning of words from the letters. They only had a memory of it.. One friend was researching the use of gates; two-letter sub-roots, within Hebrew. Much of his work relies upon free-for-all allegory. Another was researching the pre-Babel language. He assumed that at Babel, consonants retained their meaning in other languages. Another was researching the logic structures of Hebrew thought.
I appreciate the insight into the Hebrew mind I received from these men . I consider them great thinkers in their pursuit of truth. Unfortunately, they limit their pursuits by the restriction of data into their research. None will consider the claims of Christ. None would confess to having read the New Testament, if, in fact they had.
This is an important gap in their thinking. They all agree that the Hebrew scriptures are prophetic riddle. Some believe that there are two layers of meaning, and some believe that there are four layers. But they are unwilling to consider that the answers to the riddle may be found in Christ.
They would interpret things which Christians apply to Christ, to Israel. Sometimes they would apply it to Adam Kadmon; a mysterious of Jewish myth. He possesses attributes of Christ.As both Man and God, his purpose is to reveal God to man.
As them speak of Israel or Adam Kadmon, I saw Christ in ways that I had not seen before; ways they would not consider. I imagined the chiild Jesus in the temple asking: "Doesn't that rock represent Meshiach?
"Why was he struck? Why did the rock follow them in the desert? Jacob went to sleep on many rocks for a pillow, but when he awoke there was only one rock; what does it mean?""
I took the rabbinic challenge to understand Hebrew words from their letters. I started with 8000 Hebrew words. Like a giant crossword puzzle, I reverse engineered the meaning of the letters. Explaining how is tedious and boring. When the words of Genesis 1:1 started making sense read letter by letter, the alphabet came together. The English translation requires choices of metaphor in Hebrew to words in English.
For example: "That was his Waterloo." The phrase uses a common metaphor having many expressions. It describes a man who was arrogant and ill-prepared because of it. It describes a messed up supply line. It also describes a man fortunate to succeed by the failures of his opponent.
To help understand this better, you may wish to watch the "Darmok" episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The crew of the Enterprise could not understand an alien crew. Picard fought a common enemy with the captain of their crew. They formed a shared metaphor by which they could start to understand each other.
The metaphor of the Hebrew language shares the real life events of Christ. The alphabet, words and literal history of Israel, contain e the event of the cross. God built the metaphor of the cross into them. Because we share the knowledge of Christ, we can now see what the ancient prophets could only hope to see.
▸ ± Lu 10:24 For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard [them].
